Marvel: Starting as a Time Criminal, Stealing Powers

There were no surveillance cameras in the castle. The young mutant students who lived there were sensitive to such things, and Professor X h

There were no surveillance cameras in the castle.

The young mutant students who lived there were sensitive to such things, and Professor X had also declared that such technology wasn't necessary.

There were, however, teachers on night duty—but only in the student dormitories.

It was nearly midnight.

Mystique strolled beside Russell, her perfume lingering in the cool night air.

The woods near the artificial lake loomed under the moonlight, shadows stretching like silent beasts lying in wait. The setting truly did have an eerie, mystical atmosphere.

They came to an ancient tree and sat on the soft grass beneath it.

Russell casually slipped his arm around Mystique's slender waist and even gave it a playful squeeze.

Her body stiffened for a moment—but then she relaxed, turning her head with a seductive smile laced with feigned annoyance.

Inwardly, though, she cursed this S.H.I.E.L.D. envoy for being so shameless!

If she hadn't planned to seduce him tonight, Raven Darkhölme—Mystique—would never have let this happen.

Not even Magneto, leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants, had ever asked her to stoop to such tactics.

But for the greater goal, she would make this temporary sacrifice.

And she certainly wasn't going to lose sleep over some dead man.

Russell was a bit surprised. He'd expected her to resist more, or at least make an excuse.

She didn't.

She really does want me dead out here—to provoke a conflict between the Divine Shield Agency and the X-Men.

But if she was fine playing along...

He smiled slyly and pulled her a little closer, already feeling her body heat through her clothes.

Mystique forced a smile, but her teeth were clenched tight behind her lips.

Don't get angry… just a little longer, and you'll die horribly!

To keep things from escalating too quickly, she feigned interest and asked Russell to talk more about divination.

He, of course, agreed—and not only talked but "assisted" her explanations with his hands.

Watching her struggle to keep calm while clearly seething inside made him feel strangely delighted.

He hoped the "werewolf" would have a good time tonight.

In the student dormitory—

This building was also styled like a castle, but it only had three floors.

The first floor held the cafeteria and administrative offices. The second floor was for boys; the third, for girls.

Inside one of the girls' double rooms, Jubilee was woken up by Rogue.

"Anna, why aren't you sleeping?" Jubilee mumbled sleepily.

"You don't actually believe Mr. Russell is a vampire hunter and want to sneak off to see his big... collection, do you?"

Rogue rolled her eyes and replied, "Of course not! I know he was joking—I meant that!"

She pointed out the window.

Jubilee grumbled, rubbed her eyes, and sat up. She looked where Rogue pointed.

Under the moonlight, a shirtless figure was shambling across the courtyard, barefoot, walking stiffly like a zombie.

Jubilee blinked, instantly alert.

"Wait… who is that? A student? Why is he out of the dorms?"

There were supposed to be teachers on duty downstairs, and students weren't allowed to leave at night.

Rogue furrowed her brows. "I don't know his name, but he's known as the Rakshasa... that's definitely him."

Jubilee hesitated. "If we get caught, we'll have to write self-reflection essays."

Rogue yanked off the covers and stood up. "So what? He can go out—so we're going to the infirmary!"

Jubilee grumbled and reluctantly got dressed. "I think you just want to see that handsome teacher again. You were staring at him all day."

"Careful, or his 'big secret' might give you a little baby!"

Smack!

Rogue, now wearing her gloves, smacked her best friend on the arm.

"Stop spouting nonsense! I can't even touch anyone—how would I have a boyfriend, let alone a baby?"

Her tone was bitter.

She was only sixteen. Even she longed for love.

Jubilee immediately felt guilty—she had forgotten about Rogue's condition.

To make up for it, she quickly got dressed, and the two of them quietly slipped out of the dorm.

Surprisingly, there were no teachers on duty downstairs.

The girls found that odd, but didn't dwell on it. They followed the figure out into the night.

After walking for a few minutes, Rogue spotted the silhouette under the moonlight.

What startled her was how the figure's smooth back had grown thick fur, and he now stood nearly half a meter taller than before.

"It's a werewolf!" Jubilee gasped.

Rogue quickly clamped a hand over her friend's mouth. "Shhh! He might be losing control again!"

"Let's follow him. I think he's heading toward the woods—we have to make sure he doesn't fall in the lake and drown."

Jubilee whispered nervously, "Shouldn't we go back and tell a teacher?"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Then we'll get busted for sneaking out, and we'll definitely be writing essays in the morning!"

"Let's just keep an eye on him. If nothing happens, we'll sneak back."

Jubilee gave in reluctantly, but as they followed from a distance, she stared at the increasingly large, muscular silhouette and felt uneasy.

Was it normal for this werewolf guy to get so huge?

Back under the big tree by the lake—

Mystique's face was flushed with shame and anger.

Aside from a few key areas, Russell had touched her nearly everywhere.

Damn it! Let that werewolf tear him to shreds!

Suddenly, her ears twitched—she heard movement.

A glimmer of relief flashed in her eyes.

She quickly cut off Russell, who was now rambling about tortoiseshell divination, and whispered sweetly:

"Mr. Russell, I suddenly need to use the bathroom…"

"Can you wait here for just a moment?"

She leaned close, gently blowing into his ear and added:

"When I come back, maybe we'll… get to know each other a little better."

Russell smiled meaningfully.

"Definitely no problem. Just don't regret it when the time comes."

Mystique returned an even more seductive smile.

"Don't worry—I won't."

She stood up.

Russell gave her a light smack on the backside as she turned, and the feeling was quite satisfying.

Mystique clenched her teeth, forcing a smile, and hurried off into the woods.

At that moment, a voice crackled through the micro-communicator in her ear.

"The werewolves are almost in position."

"In ten minutes, I'll create a distraction so the school sends someone to investigate. Use that moment to sneak into the Cerebro room."

"Copy that," Mystique whispered back, shooting Russell an annoyed glance as she disappeared into the trees.

Under the tree, Russell raised his fingertip. A small beetle crawled on it, twitching and turning as if unsure how to get down.

"Tsk tsk… guess I'll take my time killing this one," he said with a smirk.

He infused a trace of magic into the beetle.

The next moment, the black shell cracked open. Flesh and blood squirmed outward, sprouting iridescent, inky feathers.

In a flash, it transformed into a raven.

Gah~ Gah!

The raven cried out twice, then flapped into the night sky.

About ten seconds later, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the distance.

They grew closer.

And from the shadows, a pair of glowing red eyes suddenly appeared.

A massive werewolf—more than three meters tall—stepped into the mottled moonlight. Its thick brown fur bristled, teeth gleamed, and claws gleamed like blades. It looked like a monster straight out of a nightmare.

There was no attempt to hide the malice in its eyes—and the hunger.

About twenty meters behind the werewolf—

Rogue suddenly realized something. Her face went pale.

"Lee! That's the teacher! He's right in front of the werewolf!"

Jubilee blinked, confused.

"Well, good! He's an X-Man, right? What are you scared of? Now we won't get in trouble."

Rogue snapped back in a panic:

"Are you stupid?! It's the new teacher—the one who doesn't need to eat!"

Jubilee's expression immediately changed.

"Oh no… isn't that werewolf supposed to be monitored at night? How the hell did it get out now!?"

"We're gonna lose the 'teacher who doesn't need to eat' to the werewolf!"

Rogue gritted her teeth.

"Lee, go back and get help! I'll try to hold it off!"

"Otherwise, Mr. Russell is going to be torn to shreds!"

"He has such a smart mouth—always bragging about being a Blade Warrior in class… He must be terrified right now!"

Just then, a long wolf howl echoed through the trees!

Rogue saw the werewolf stop beneath a tree up ahead. It didn't seem to have noticed the strange teacher yet.

No time left!

She shoved Jubilee into the bushes and shouted:

"Hey! Big mutt! Over here!"

"Your master Rogue is right here! Don't turn back now!"

The werewolf froze, eyes scanning the area. Its red pupils narrowed, lips curling into a bestial snarl.

But just as it was about to charge—

It suddenly stopped.

Its eyes lost focus.

A second later, it sniffed the air, turned away, and ignored her completely.

Rogue was stunned.

What? I drew its attention—why didn't it charge?!

"Go! Get the teachers!" she yelled to Jubilee, then rushed forward herself.

If she could touch even a single part of the werewolf's body, she might be able to absorb its energy and stop it.

But before she could get close, the werewolf started running again—this time toward Russell.

No matter how loud she yelled, it wouldn't turn back.

And that idiot teacher was still just… standing there. Staring up at the moon!

Stupid! What's so great about the moon?! Run, you idiot! Can't you hear me?!

Rogue's face went pale.

She couldn't bear to watch what was about to happen.

Such a pretty face… about to get shredded.

But at that moment, she saw something odd.

Russell lowered his head, eyes briefly meeting hers.

"Run! Mr. Russell! Don't just stand there—run!" Rogue shouted desperately.

Then, Russell… winked at her.

He calmly reached his hand toward thin air.

No—not the air.

Rogue's eyes widened.

His arm was sinking into space, disappearing entirely—like he was reaching into another dimension.

A second later—fwoosh!

A fiery, crimson sword emerged from the rift, glowing as if it had just come out of a forge!

And by now, the werewolf was nearly on top of him, claws swiping downward with deadly force—

Slash!

Blood sprayed under the moonlight, catching the light like rubies.

The werewolf's massive arm was severed from its body and hurled into the air.

Before the limb even hit the ground, a boot slammed onto the beast's head, and Russell flipped nimbly behind it.

Boom!

The werewolf crashed into a tree. Its right shoulder was a mess of blood and bone, completely torn apart.

The creature let out a shriek of agony.

Rogue could only stare, stunned.

The teacher she thought was doomed was now standing tall, one foot forward, sword in hand, like he had just walked out of a movie.

"Mr. Russell… y-you…" she stammered, unable to comprehend what she had just seen.

The guy who supposedly didn't need to eat… just chopped off a werewolf's arm with one swing?

Was she dreaming?

Russell tapped her forehead with two fingers and smirked.

"How about that? Pretty handsome, huh?"

Rogue squealed and rubbed her forehead, but her mind was still stuck on that slow-motion scene of the sword slash.

Okay… yeah. It was kind of hot.

Especially with that face…

Suddenly, she remembered something he'd said to her earlier.

Her eyes widened.

"Wait… are you really a Blade Warrior?!"

Russell glanced at Jubilee, who was still frozen in place nearby, then leaned toward Rogue and whispered:

"I was lying."

"But I'll let you in on a secret…"

His voice dropped.

"I'm actually God."

He raised his brows, grinning playfully.

Then, without even looking, he turned—and swung his sword again.

Splat!

Rogue turned her head just in time to see—

The werewolf's legs falling to the ground, severed cleanly.

It collapsed to its knees, howling in pain.

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